Blue Wind Broccoli- Even after last year's broccoli disaster, we are not deterred! This is an early version, a full 26-50 days earlier than last year's Romanesco. We also have some tricks up our collective sleeve for defeating cutworms: tuna cans.

Walla Walla Onion- Even though we feel like it's a copout to grow these from seedlings instead of seeds, these sweet onions are so worth it (we couldn't find the seeds for sale).

Thanks for sharing, Matt. What zone are you in? That's quite a list you've got there! Alas, we don't have anywhere near enough space to grow such a variety. Do you grow for your own consumption, or do you sell at a farmers market?

It's great you're ordering all that fruit. We've just got strawberries and black raspberries right now, but we'd like to do more when we move to our next house. I've got visions of fig trees dancing in my head...

Hi Kate,We are Zone 5 here in Ithaca, but I use cold frames and make-shift indoor green greenhouses to jump start the season.

I am just growing for my wife and me at this point on our little two acre yard. Maybe someday we will expand the operation, but for now it keeps me busy enough. My big foray this spring is into laying chickens.

I really like to grow my own fruits, but success has been limited so far to strawberries, gooseberries and black raspberries. I hope currants (native to this area) will take over.

If you have any lawn left, tear that up and plant your garden there. :)

Hi Matt, we've probably got a similar growing climate here in northern NJ, we're just a little closer to the coast. Do you have any luck with row covers? I'm still learning how to use them properly but we got some favorable results last year for some crops. I'm really impressed at the scope of your gardening, and your lawn aversion. We're tearing up some more of that this year, our best sun is wasted on grass. Kate and I would love to have some chickens, please let us know how that works out for you. Thanks for the comments, don't be a stranger!

Hi Mark,I have six raised beds (12' X 4') that I plan to build knee-high hoop houses over this spring. I think I can pull it off with just some flexible plastic pipe and some clear plastic? What kind of covers do you use?

I built a couple of cold frames out of used windows that I bought at a refurbishing store in town. The cabbages loved them, but so did the slugs.

We also have raised beds, seven 8'X4' and six 4'X4' planters. I used the lightweight row covers called Agribon AG-15 last year. I went with the next heavier grade this time because the AG-15 tore easily. I made half-moon shaped supports with coiled wire and put 3 per 8' bed; two at each end and one in the middle. They worked pretty well although I like the idea of building a larger mini-hoop house. I may jack the covers up this year by 12" or so. I found that the covers bunched up a lot in the corners and really inhibited the plants there. Also, some of the bigger plants like broccoli outgrew the covers I made quickly, they needed much more height than I had accounted for.